Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $57.15 Million Stock Position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO)

Value Partners Investments Inc. decreased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 616,276 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 156,018 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal makes up 4.7% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Value Partners Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Bank of Montreal worth $57,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. now owns 8,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $646,000. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 186,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,386,000 after buying an additional 3,489 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 848,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,966,000 after buying an additional 104,490 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE:BMO traded down $3.03 on Wednesday, hitting $95.33. 292,127 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 665,852. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12. The company has a market cap of $69.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.1172 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 62.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BMO. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Profile

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.